don’t miss the before-and-after bath remodel! Every month, I get a few emails asking how we handled the window in our shower… I’d like to reply—oh, la la la… that’s so boring… Wouldn’t you rather ask me what I’m planning to be for Halloween? Why is no one curious about that? But instead of grilling them about their failure to ask me the truly important questions, I cobble together a response about the window.  And I promise that SOON I’ll do a real post. So—to the people I told that to, and never did it? Now you know what my husband deals with every day. What takes other people one hour?  Takes me 49 years. It causes all kinds of problems…  Most of which are way more serious than unwritten blog posts.We have a large window in our shower…  it’s not unusual in old houses. Below is the bathroom before we began the remodel… the layout was awesome. You can see that our ever-creative, previous-owner applied his signature brand of totally-impractical-I-found-this-in-the-trash-and-couldn’t-pass-it-up-solution.

He covered the window with shutters.  Wood shutters… because they’re so easy to clean? I will give him credit for ONE thing, though.  Take note, because this may be the ONLY thing in this house that ever prompts me to say anything nice about him. He used a luxury ledge tub… The side of the tub that’s against the wall has a ledge 4″ wider than normal. That doesn’t sound like much, but it really is… especially if you’re concerned with being too close to a shower window. Incidentally— when you start a blog, you have NO IDEA that you need to take 12,000 pictures of EVERYTHING. I would forgot to take pictures for entire days, and therefore am missing huge chunks of the project… So if this is the one thing you most needed detailed, step-by-step instructions on? As we planned the new bathroom layout, (which involved gutting the room down to the studs, and moving the sink over to the same wall as the super-fancy concealed trapway toilet,) we tried rearranging the shower location.

But the room is really narrow, and we decided there was no good way to align the tub with another wall. Here’s the window before.  It was the original one, and trimmed out in wood… Please don’t ask me about the sill.   We also considered putting in a smaller window…  and moving it well above the shower area. But in the end, I didn’t want to give up the natural light.  For some reason, I like my bathrooms to be BLINDINGLY bright.Fisher Price Digital Camera Drivers I’m really not kidding…  How Much Cla Fat LossI would put floodlights in, if Paul didn’t stop me.4 Piece Recliner Slipcover InstructionsBy the time we began the bathroom remodel, I had decided that having a giant window in your shower is a total luxury.

What initially felt like a design-challenge is one of my favorite elements of this bathroom…  In the summer, it feels like an outdoor shower. If you don’t have one?  I suggest you go hack a hole in the side of your house RIGHT NOW. I should say that privacy is not an issue for us, so I get this may not work for you, but either way, here is my not-very-technical summation of how we waterproofed the window in the shower. I do not pretend to be an expert on any of this. Mostly I held things.  Or provided valuable commentary that Paul could not have lived without. I have so many good suggestions ALL THE TIME.I’m so glad you asked! Like: all grout should be PERFECT.Guess who is the grout-inspector.I was BORN FOR THIS JOB. We ordered a window with vinyl interior trim, and pebbled privacy glass. Theoretically the water wouldn’t hurt the window– it’s just vinyl and glass.  Plus the whole thing pops out for cleaning… But Paul wanted to keep the water from hitting the window directly, so to make it REALLY classy— we cut a piece of plexiglas to cover just the bottom half of the window.

It’s held in place with four small dots of caulk. It’s actually great, because you can pull it out to clean it, it doesn’t block the light, and the window stays remarkably dry. If you don’t have an old house, you may not understand that sometimes the ultimate solution is unconventional… And, there is really no way to make plexiglas sound like anything other than how you might fix a window in your Appalachian shack… so I won’t try to convince you. index of all bathroom remodel posts I will love you EVEN MORE… if you share me with your friends! I will love you EVEN MORE... if you share me with your friends.How to Convert a Tub to a Shower Fast-paced, modern living almost demands having a shower unit, but when space is at a premium, how can you squeeze one in? Try these ideas for converting the tub to a shower. Share your take on this idea!Upload your photo here. There's nothing like relaxing in a warm, bubbly bath to let your cares fade away.

But having time to take a bath can be a luxury in and of itself. That's why having a shower just makes sense -- and why new construction often includes a shower in every full bath. If you live in an older house that hasn't yet been updated or need to convert a standard bath, you're likely facing a 5x8-foot space with a toilet, a small vanity, and a tub, which doesn't leave room to add a shower to the existing plan without blowing out some walls or reconfiguring the existing tub. To convert your tub, consider these two options to make the best decision. 1. Tear out the tub and build a new shower. This is not a small job, so know your DIY abilities or call a professional contractor to help you assess the space and potential solutions. In the footprint where the tub stands, you will have plenty of room to build a shower, but you'll want a tile or solid surface curb to keep the water from spilling out into the bathroom. Another consideration for a small-space shower is the door.

If you're going to have a shower door, make sure there is room for the door to swing open without hitting the toilet or sink. Shower doors aren't required. In fact, there are handsome partial glass panels that keep the water contained. These can let in cool air, however, so make sure the room is warm and consider adding a heated floor to your shower. (Bonus: The heat will also keep the floor dry and reduce the possibility of slips.) One con to tearing out a tub and replacing it with a stand-alone shower is resale. Many homeowners want a tub for bathing children, particularly if the bathroom being remodeled is a shared family space. 2. Retrofit the plumbing. The less invasive solution is retrofitting the existing bathroom plumbing to create a shower/tub unit. This allows you to keep the existing tub while adding the required plumbing for a shower. You'll need to open up the wall (usually from the room adjacent the bath) and be required to bring the plumbing up to code. You'll also need to pick a tile for the walls.

Many small baths have a window over the tub, which is another thing to remedy. Two common solutions include walling it off and tiling over it or replacing it with glass block, which will stand up to water. Talk about other possible window solutions with your builder. Your shower will need an enclosure, too. You can add sliding doors that mount to the top of the tub, but a less expensive and more decorative solution is to hang a shower curtain with a plastic liner. For shower curtain hardware, you can buy a tension-mount rod or a wall-mount rod.  Wall-mount versions are straight or curved. The latter makes the shower feel more spacious. Regardless of which solution you choose, converting a tub to a shower presents opportunities to upgrade lighting, venting, and to build in amenities that improve the experience, such as a bench, shelves, or a niche for soap and shampoo. Get a Sparkling Shower = Fast How to Clean a Shower Get the Bathroom Planning Guide before you begin any remodel.